Team Fastrax, a skydiving team, will perform at the Dayton Air Show.

Dayton’s Cityfolk Festival

Courtesy of the CityFolk Festival

Canoeing at Paddle in the Park

Courtesy of Paddle in the Park

Enjoying a glass of wine at the Dayton Wine Fest

Courtesy of the Ohio Wine Producers

Looking for ideas on how to fill all those glorious summer hours? Look no further. This season brings some excellent events to the Dayton area: outdoor concerts, wine tastings, festivals, celebrations of our American roots and more. Read on for five great reasons to visit Dayton this summer, then grab your sunscreen and go.

On June 4 and 5, toast the beginning of summer by heading to the Dayton Wine Fest, held this year at Boonshoft Museum of Discovery. After a year’s hiatus, the Wine Fest is back at a new location, but it will retain all of the features that have made it one of the region’s most popular wine events since 2003. With more than a dozen Ohio wineries showcasing and pouring their finest vintages, the Dayton Wine Fest offers the opportunity to sample locally produced wines and get insights on production straight from the winemakers.

In addition to award-winning wines, guests will enjoy live music and plenty of food. And don’t forget a sturdy bag, as you’ll be able to buy bottles to enjoy on your patio later in the summer. Adult sampler tickets for each day are $25 (presale $20) and include entry to the festival grounds, a souvenir wine glass, 10 sampling tickets and the opportunity to purchase wine by the glass. Designated driver/youth (16 and over) tickets are $10.

Never kayaked before? No problem. Paddle in the Park at Eastwood MetroPark on June 5 will show you the ropes … er, the paddles. It’s your introduction to all sorts of paddling sports, including kayaking, canoeing and paddleboarding, which involves paddling through water on a board similar to a surfboard, though you kneel instead of stand. The free all-day event, now in its 11th year, is for all ages and skill levels.

Experienced staff will be on hand to fit life jackets and give training sessions. With Eastwood’s 185-acre lake, there’s plenty of room for novices to learn basic strokes and for those with more experience to just get out and have fun. You can also enjoy food and live music, as well as obtain information from canoe and kayak manufacturers.

For those planning a summer getaway, this is a great chance to try your hand at a paddle sport to see if you want to add it to your vacation to-do list. Visitors are encouraged to enjoy other aspects of the park as well, including hiking trails, picnic areas and fishing on the Mad River.

Paddle in the Park, just one of many Five Rivers MetroParks events this summer, will be held rain or shine, unless weather conditions are unsafe. Call first if the weather looks questionable.Eastwood MetroPark, 1385 Harshman Rd., Dayton 45431, 937/275-PARK.metroparks.org

“The Freedom’s Call Military Tattoo is a family event to help us thank the community for supporting Wright-Patt Air Force Base,” says Tattoo director Dave Egner. This free event, taking place on June 25 on the grounds of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, will recognize the contributions of military veterans and their families. Originally a 30-minute military drum performance signaling curfew for soldiers, the modern-day tattoo has evolved into an evening-long event with live music, technology displays, aircraft flyovers and a fireworks show.

Unique to this year’s military tattoo is a salute to Korean War veterans. The tattoo falls on the same date as the start of the Korean War 60 years ago. (Special Korean War anniversary events will take place at the museum and around Dayton all weekend. Visit nationalmuseum.af.mil for details.)

Gates open at 4 p.m. and local band This Side Up starts at 5 p.m. Visitors can check out a technology tent showcasing airpower capabilities developed by Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB), get a close-up view of an F-16 cockpit, play at the Family Fun Zone or grab a bite from a food vendor. The main tattoo event kicks off at 8 p.m. by honoring Korean War veterans, followed by a swearing-in of new Air Force recruits. 38 Special, an ’80s southern rock band, will play from 9 to 10 p.m., followed by a grand finale fireworks display set to music by the U.S. Air Force Band of Flight.

“The whole event makes you proud to be an American,” Egner says.

Free parking is available on site; RTA buses also will run a park-and-ride service from the Nutter Center to the museum every 10 to 15 minutes between 4 and 11 p.m. Blankets and lawn chairs are permitted on the buses.

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, WPAFB, 1100 Spaatz St., WPAFB 45433, 937/255-7207. wpafb.af.mil/tattoo

Rockabilly, soul, jazz, swing, zydeco, Latin, folk, Celtic, Caribbean — with this dizzying mix of music, it must be time for Dayton’s Cityfolk Festival. And that’s just a small sampling of genres you’ll hear this year. First held in 1996, Cityfolk is recognized by many in the region as the place to get your cultural infusion of music, dance and art from around the world.

Scheduled July 2–4 downtown at the RiverScape MetroPark, this multi-ethnic event exposes festivalgoers to other cultures and celebrates the melting pot that is the United States. Better yet, all Cityfolk Festival programs are free.

“To find another festival that mixes this kind of diversity and quality, you’d have to go to Chicago or New York,” says Dave Barber, director of programs for Cityfolk, the traditional and ethnic performing arts presenter that hosts the festival each year.

Along with a great music lineup, you’ll find food, dance, arts and crafts and a killer fireworks show on Saturday night. The “Material Culture” exhibit features masks and puppetry and will highlight traditions connected to making them. Complementing the exhibit will be three plays put on by the Zoot Theatre Company, a Dayton-based puppet and mask theater company.

Curious just what bands you might find this year? Here’s a peek: trombone-based funk band Bonerama, Zimbabwe singer Chiwoniso, Grammy-winning accordion-led Los Texmaniacs, and local traditional dance and music ensemble Rhythm in Shoes. Unfamiliar with some of these performers? That’s OK. Go anyway. Cityfolk is all about making new discoveries.
RiverScape MetroPark, 111 E. Monument Ave., Dayton 45402, 937/223-3655.cityfolk.org

July 17 and 18 will mark the 36th anniversary of the Vectren Dayton Air Show, recognized as one of the nation’s premier air shows. The great thing about this all-ages event is that despite its longevity, it still brings performances never before seen in Dayton.

New this year is Pirated Skies, featuring husband-and-wife team Kyle and Amanda Franklin and their wing-walking act. In wing walking, a performer perches on the wing of a plane as it twists, turns, plunges and loops high above the crowds.

Another new act is Team Fastrax, a professional skydiving team from Middletown. And you won’t want to miss School Time, the world’s largest jet-powered vehicle — a school bus that races down the runway at 350 miles per hour. Another debut will be Flagship Detroit, the oldest flying DC-3, restored to appear as it was when American Airlines introduced it 75 years ago.

In addition to these new attractions, air show superstars return to Dayton, including the famed U.S. Navy Blue Angels jet team, plus a four-plane aerobatic team, and other top military and civilian performers.

Along with the flying, you can catch numerous ground displays, many with hands-on, interactive exhibits, and a special area just for kids.